I'm glad that people seem to already be enjoying the start of a new fic. I've got some interesting plans in mind for this story and I'm excited to see what you guys think. Not as much direct action and fight scenes as the previous story, but plenty of domestic stuff mixed with their various traumas. Oodles of fun.
It was strange seeing Axel— Lea wearing anything other than the familiar black coat. He was still mostly wearing dark colors, but it was still an unexpected change. He'd always worn the black coat from the moment that Roxas could remember. Because that's what they'd always worn in Organization XIII. And wearing something different was a firm statement that none of them were there any longer. A clear sign that he was no longer the Nobody that they first met. Roxas didn't know if he was comfortable with the idea of their friend being someone different, but Lea didn't behave that much differently than Axel. A little more open, but it was still him. Regardless of what he decided to wear, he was still their friend.
Putting on different clothes himself was equally strange. The only time that Roxas remembered wearing anything other than his own black coat was when he was trapped in the fake version of Twilight Town. But Lea pulled out some plain white t-shirts and black shorts from his bag as part one of the surprise. Light, soft fabrics that didn't offer protection against the darkness, but were still intriguing in their own way.
What immediately followed was a brief explanation from Lea. About how clothes were for more than protection from dark corridors. About not changing clothes in front of other people. And about how different worlds had different standards of decency. Which was why Donald didn't have to wear pants, the Beast didn't have to wear a shirt, and why Phil didn't wear anything even though everyone else in Olympus apparently did. But apparently places like Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, and Destiny Islands had strong opinions about human-looking people wearing proper amounts of clothing. Which Roxas kind of knew from his time in the data version of the town, but he hadn't really thought too much about it.
Honestly, it was simpler when the only rule about clothes was to wear their black coats at all times for protection. But the two of them listened to Lea's explanation and then put on their new clothes. They slipped their black coats on over the t-shirt and shorts briefly to travel through the dark corridor, but only until they reached Twilight Town. Then they went into the now-empty bag. Leaving all three of them in more normal clothes.
The outfits weren't the only thing that made the situation feel strange and almost unreal. Being back in Twilight Town itself seemed like a dream. Or perhaps another illusion. Roxas tried to bury the sickening feeling in his stomach, the gnawing doubt that he was still trapped in that simulation. It didn't make any sense; the fake Twilight Town wouldn't include Lea and Xion with him or his intact memories of the Organization, Sora, and the Keyblade War. But his mind couldn't help whispering what if…
But as long as he could ignore that quiet doubt, it was nice to be back in the quiet and familiar town. The warm colors, the distant chimes from the clocktower, and the faint sounds of the trains in the distance brought a smile to his face. Not all of his memories of the place were good. That final fight against Xion, everything to do with the fake Twilight Town… But there were far more good memories. He could practically taste the sea-salt ice cream.
"So other than the new clothes," he said slowly, "what's the other surprise?"
Grinning as he led them towards Tram Common, Lea said, "You'll see. And be nice to Gina when you meet her."
"Who is Gina?" asked Xion.
Gesturing at the three-story building ahead of them, he said, "She owns the place."
Roxas studied their destination. It was mostly a brick building with a few windows scattered on the upper floors, though the entire front of the first floor was glass to reveal a storefront. He could make out a few dresses inside, which told him what kind of merchandise it sold. Roxas briefly considered the idea that Lea had brought them there to find more clothes, but he didn't lead them towards the front entrance. Instead, he guided them down the side of the building towards a door near the back of the structure.
"Where are we going?" asked Roxas.
"Just wait and see."
Inside was a staircase that wove back and forth, another door that undoubtedly led back into the store, and a line of boxes with numbers and letters on them. Lea headed up the stairs with no hesitation. Roxas noticed that on both the second and third floor, there were two doors each. And each door had a letter and a number, the combinations matching the boxes on the first floor. Lea finally stopped on the third floor in front of a door labeled "3B."
"Where are we, Axel?" he asked.
Opening the door, he said, "Our new home."
Roxas and Xion stepped inside slowly, staring in startled silence. The main room that they first entered was a relatively large space, though that impression might be partially from the place being empty and painted white. The right side of the room seemed to be the kitchen. The entire wall seemed to consist of counters, cabinets, and appliances while also hosting the only windows in the room. Roxas spotted a refrigerator, a stove, an oven, a sink, and even a microwave that rested above the oven. And on the far side of the room next to the entrance of a hallway was a washing machine and dryer.
"They'll be delivering a couch for the other half of the room," said Lea, gesturing towards the empty space. "And a table and chairs. They're used, but in good shape. They should be here in a couple of hours. The beds, mattresses, and wardrobes since the bedrooms don't have individual closets will be here then too. Those are all cheap, but new. We can work on getting more or better furniture later. I just wanted to get the basic necessities first."
Still trying to wrap his head around it, Roxas kept exploring with Xion. The hallway had five rooms on the right and what looked like a couple of closets on the left. The first room seemed to be a bathroom, the tub half hidden by a shower curtain just as white as the rest of the apartment. The next four rooms seemed to be intended as bedrooms. Long, narrow, painted white, and each one with at least a single window that let in the warm golden-orange light from outside, the rooms seemed smaller than the ones in the Castle That Never Was or the illusionary one that Roxas had in the fake Twilight Town. But there was space for a bed, a wardrobe, and maybe a desk or a shelf if they didn't mind things ending up a little crowded.
"There's one more thing," said Lea. "This apartment has something that the others in the building don't. I think you'll like it."
At the end of the hall, right near a window that Roxas's mental map told him overlooked the front of the building, was a gap where it almost seemed like there should be another closet. Instead, there was a bit of extra space. Lea reached up and unfolded a ladder from the ceiling. Then he climbed up and opened a hatch. With a quick glance, Roxas knew that Xion had no idea what was going on either, so the pair followed him up.
"We're the only ones in the building with roof access," he explained. "Apparently that's just how the remodeling worked out. It gives us a little extra space."
"For what?" asked Xion, staring out at their immediate surroundings.
The building wasn't in the center of the Tram Common, so they couldn't spot the new restaurant in town that they'd glimpsed on the way. But they weren't stuck staring at narrow alleyways either. There would be a decent amount of foot traffic near the front of the store and they could already see several people walking by. But since very few people ever looked up, it was easy to watch things unobserved.
They might not have to avoid all contact anymore, but some behaviors took time to change.
Shrugging, Lea said, "Whatever we want. Sparring with Keyblades. Stargazing in the evening. We could probably plant a rooftop garden if either of you two are interested in that. And while the view isn't as great as it is on the clocktower, we could probably even have ice cream here sometime."
"It is a nice view," said Roxas slowly.
They weren't as high above everything as they were when sitting on the clocktower, but they could look down on part of the Tram Common and watch the people going about their lives. And even if they couldn't gaze out at the rolling hills and forests that surrounded the town, they should be able to easily watch the sunset and the shadows stretch with the fall of evening. Roxas would have to admit that while he would always prefer the view from the clocktower, sitting on the roof would work as a reasonable substitute.
"What do you two think?" asked Lea.
Xion turned back slowly and said, "This… This is ours? Really?"
"Already talked to Gina about staying here and everything. That's what I was up to yesterday. But if you truly hate it, we can try and figure something else out."
"I don't hate it," said Roxas.
And he didn't. Not at all. It was just taking some time to properly sink in.
It was theirs. It was theirs and it was real. They'd talked about running away together, just the three of them. Leaving Organization XIII and no longer worrying about missions, collecting hearts, and the increasingly obvious fact that they couldn't trust anyone. That fantasy never became real as they each fell, one-by-one. But now they were together, free, and happy. They could have everything that they could never have before.
And it wasn't at all like his room in the digital version of Twilight Town, He remembered it being on Market Street, his window overlooking the Usual Spot. The fake room was larger, with tall shelves and all sorts of books and toys. The types of things that a teenage boy would like. Or at least what Ansem the Wise assumed that a teenage boy would like. The real bedrooms were completely different than the digital one. The empty and white apartment reminded him uncomfortably of the Castle That Never Was, but not the fake version of Twilight Town. Roxas appreciated that.
"Come on then," said Lea, gesturing back down towards the apartment. "Time for you to pick out your rooms before the furniture arrives. The two closest to the bathroom are for you guys and I'll take the next one."
Doing some quick mental math, Roxas asked, "What about the extra room? The one closest to the roof access? In the corner of the building and with the window facing the front of the building?"
Lea hesitated a moment, perched right above the ladder. Then he continued climbing down.
"Having a spare bedroom is just a smart investment. Especially with how many friends and allies we've got scattered around now. You never know when someone might need a place to stay."
Roxas resisted the urge to scowl. He could fill in the blanks enough to know exactly who Lea might have in mind. And why he would position his bedroom to serve as a buffer between their rooms and the "spare." Roxas and Xion might have agreed to give Isa a chance. And Roxas might have felt bad when Saïx apologized to them as he faded. But that didn't mean that he'd forgiven him for everything that he'd done as Saïx and Roxas was certainly not comfortable with the idea of Isa staying with them.
But Roxas wasn't going to mention it right now. Instead, he was going to carefully compare the two rooms and see which one he should pick.
It turned out that moving into an apartment took longer than expected, even when none of them really had any belongings.
Putting the simple bedframes together took time. They weren't fancy things. Just pale and simple wood posts that held up the mattresses. But it still took time to get them put together. And the plain wardrobes were sturdy and heavy things that took some careful maneuvering to get them down the hallway and through the doors. Though they should be very useful. The wardrobes had space in the upper part to hang their clothes and a couple of drawers in the lower portion to fold them up.
The brown couch with slightly worn cushions was a nightmare to get up to the apartment. The size and shape of the bulky thing made it awkward to carry up a couple of flights of stairs. The table and chairs, the same honey-pale wood as the bedframes and wardrobes, were actually the easiest to handle. Xion only banged one of the chairs twice while hurrying up the stairs.
After the heavy lifting was done, Lea handed out the white bedsheets and pillows to get their rooms ready. He took responsibility for preparing the spare bedroom in addition to his own. The beds were a little larger than the narrow ones that they had in the Organization, a fact that both she and Roxas ended up excited about. Between sleeping at the castle in Radiant Garden and in Master Yen Sid's tower, she'd come to the conclusion that larger beds were better.
Lea's bed, however, ended up the biggest of them. According to him, upgrading to a king-sized bed was one of the perks of being the person buying the furniture. The downside was that it didn't leave him with much extra room. There was some floor space in front of his wardrobe and a smaller section on the far side of the bed near the window, just enough for him to stand there if he wanted. But there was no room for any other furniture. Roxas and Xion were already talking about maybe adding desks and she thought that maybe she could hang a few shelves on a wall, but Lea didn't have that option.
Xion chose the room closest to the bathroom while Roxas's bedroom was tucked between hers and Lea's. It was a cozy space that she spent too much time carefully arranging. She smoothed out the new white sheets on her new bed, looked in the wardrobe and all the available space, and opened up her window to let in a cool breeze. She liked her new room, even though the color reminded her of the cold, unwelcoming, and empty castle. As long as she reminded herself that they weren't in the World That Never Was, she should be fine.
"All right," called Lea from the main room. "It doesn't take half an hour to make your beds. I managed to fix up two rooms in the same amount of time. Hurry up. I need to introduce you two to another tradition of moving."
"Is it ice cream?" asked Roxas.
Laughing, Lea said, "Close, but not quite. Now, while I didn't help move much in the past, I know at least one important tradition about it. When you move into a new house, everyone involved in the process is rewarded for their hard work with pizza afterwards. I'd say we've earned it."
Frowning in thought, Xion poked her head out of her new room and asked, "What's pizza?"
"A hot, greasy, and delicious food. You'll see. We'll order one cheese pizza and one with pepperoni to give you a couple of options to see what you like." Heading towards the door, he said, "You two finish up and I'll go ask Gina if she knows anywhere decent that delivers."
Xion smiled at the description. Meals within Organization XIII tended to be plain, simple, and solitary affairs. They didn't tend to be more elaborate because that would require caring about the entire process and Nobodies weren't supposed to have strong feelings about things, let alone what they were having for dinner. But the three of them would always share ice cream together and the group breakfast after Roxas and Xion's return was nice. Communal meals were quickly becoming something that she appreciated. And Xion was certain that she would like eating pizza with her best friends.
Roxas was charging through the empty white hallways of the Castle That Never Was, clinging desperately to a fading memory of a girl and a final promise. Destroy the bright Kingdom Hearts in the sky that they crafted by collecting hearts and free those hearts from their captivity. That's what she wanted. If he did what she asked, maybe she would come back. Then everything would go back to the way that things were meant to be. The three of them together and happy. So he kept running.
The halls started out as empty, but that hadn't lasted long. While there had been Heartless out in the city, the castle had always been a place for Nobodies. And that was what came swarming out at him. Lesser Nobodies. Roxas kept running, cutting through the Dusks as fast as he could. They were trying to slow him down. They were trying to keep him away. But he couldn't let them. He had to reach Kingdom Hearts. He had to get her back. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't forget. He needed his friends back.
Roxas couldn't stop moving. He couldn't stop fighting his way forward. He'd fought through the waves of Heartless in the city and past the black-coat imposter. And now he was forcing his way through the swarms of Nobodies that seemed determined to stop him. They grabbed at him, trying to slow his progress. Trying to trip him or tangle his limbs. Anything to hinder him. But he couldn't let them stop him. He needed to get through.
The white hallways seemed endless and the sounds of fighting echoed along them. Twin Keyblades swirled and flashed as he moved, cutting through the writhing and attacking white mass of Nobodies. But for every one that he destroyed, at least two more took its place. Roxas gritted his teeth in frustrated desperation.
He couldn't let them stop him. He couldn't lose his friends. And if he didn't make it to the top of the castle and free the hearts, they would be gone. Both of them. He could feel it deep inside, beyond any doubt. If he failed, he would lose his friends permanently.
But the white halls were no longer familiar. He couldn't recognize any of the passages. The castle had become an endless maze, hostile and dangerous. A maze filled with lesser Nobodies. Nobodies that kept coming after him.
He was no longer welcome in that place. But he also couldn't escape it. He was trapped and lost. And saving his friends grew less likely with each passing moment.
Roxas couldn't stop fighting. But the Dusks kept coming in thicker waves. Thick enough that Roxas couldn't move forward any longer. Thick enough that the twisting and writhing creatures were entangling his legs and grabbing at his black coat. Threatening to pull him down to the ground and end the fight permanently. Roxas kept slashing away at them, but it never stopped.
His friends needed him. Roxas couldn't let them down. He had to keep fighting. He couldn't lose them.
They'd discovered the secret lab a long time ago with their sneaky investigating and exploring in the castle. Breaking in there repeatedly was how they'd found the lab and then the girl in the hidden underground cell. At least until she disappeared without a trace. Lea and Isa knew all about the secret lab and the creepy things hidden down there. Or at least, they knew about some of the things. And while a hidden door leading to a secret room should have been amazing, it was mostly unnerving.
But just because Lea and Isa knew about the secret lab didn't mean that they intended to reveal their knowledge. And they certainly didn't expect the other apprentices to intentionally bring the two of them down then. Not after spending the last month and a half keeping their distance from the pair.
It had been a strange day already. Enough that they noticed even as they poked around in places that they weren't technically meant to be. While Master Ansem tended to interact with them two of them only at the bare minimum, his focus usually on his own studies or his other apprentices, they hadn't seen him at all that day. There was no sign of the old man and his other apprentices had seemed different. Bolder and less restrained. But also wrong in a way that Lea couldn't quite describe.
And when they found the pair trying to pretend that they weren't snooping like always, they invited the boys to join them. They guided the two of them down towards the secret lab behind the hidden door, Aeleus resting a hand on each of their shoulders. The apprentices gave the teenage boys oversized black coats to wear and stated that they required some assistance with an experiment.
They grinned at the pair in a way that was probably meant to be encouraging, but the expressions didn't seem to reach their eyes. And there was something predatory about them. Enough to make Lea and Isa hesitate. And the friendly hands on their shoulders tightened into a death grip. The boys kicked, screamed, twisted, and fought to break free as Braig and Dilan wrestled them into the black coats. They fought as hard as they could, but Aeleus merely tucked the pair under his arms once they were garbed. He'd always been too strong to escape back when he and Dilan would toss them out of the castle. That had not changed.
"Are you certain that these clothes will offer the protection that you promised, Lord Xemnas?" asked Aeleus.
"That is why we must test the material," said Xehanort. "Even with no hearts left of our own, too much darkness may still be hazardous. We are nothingness incarnate. Rejected by both the light and the darkness. Without protection, that darkness could eventually swallow us whole and return us to that same oblivion. It is best not to tempt fate by being reckless."
Twisting and clawing at the painfully-tight arm wrapped around his waist and keeping him off the ground, Lea snarled, "Let us go! You can't do this!"
"And it'll be easy to test," said Braig, none of them paying any attention to what the boys were yelling. "I mean, we've already got that machine from when we were testing the effects of messing with darkness in people's hearts. Just turn it up and see if the kiddos turn into Heartless or not."
Hunched over a computer, Even typed something on the screen and caused a sudden click above. Lea stopped struggling for a brief moment as his head snapped up. A mechanical actuator came out of a panel in the ceiling and started lowering with a quiet hum. The robotic limb held something that reminded Lea of an oversized laser weapon from a comic book, though he doubted that it was anything as straightforward as that. It came to a stop a little above a gurney that Dilan wheeled into the room earlier. Lea didn't trust the new machinery nor the gurney with thick leather restraints.
"If we truly wanted to test the effectiveness of the material in a controlled environment and compare the results against having no protection, we would need to have one of the subjects with the black coat and one without," said Even. "Then we could adjust the machine to different concentrations and strengths, gradually increasing until we reach the minimal requirements to damage or lose the subject. We can only draw proper conclusions if we establish a proper baseline result. We would want reliable results, yes."
Scratching the back of his head, Braig said, "I mean, we could do that. But as long as we silence to two of them before they start spreading stories around, who cares how we do it? That's the goal. Can't get the whole town after us and messing stuff up. Testing out the coats is just a bonus."
Lea felt himself grow pale and immediately renewed his struggles. He knew what they meant about silencing him and Isa. And he wouldn't go down without a fight.
"People will come looking for us. My parents. You have to let us go. We won't tell," said Isa. "Let us go and I promise that we won't tell anyone. Just let me and Lea go."
Leave it to Isa to try and bargain their way out of danger. He always had a cool head under pressure. And it was the smarter plan. It wasn't like they were making any progress physically fighting them. Aeleus was too strong for that. And he seemed even stronger than normal.
"We will proceed as previously discussed," said Xehanort, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Our baseline for comparison will be our previous experiments on the heart. You still have that data, Vexen. It should suffice. Besides, proper science also requires repeating the experiment. It requires multiple results demonstrating the same conclusion. Both boys will wear the coats."
Looking away from his computer, Even said, "Very well then. Zexion, are you ready to record the results?"
The small boy in the corner nodded. The quiet and serious child had always been a little odd. But now, standing in the corner next to a tray of sharp instruments and wearing both a blank expression and his oversized lab coat, the kid had reached a new level of creepy. He held his clipboard tight with a pen at the ready. And he didn't seem at all disturbed about what was happening. There was no sign of any emotion on his face at all.
"Then let us begin," he continued. "Xaldin, select the first test subject and strap him down. We wouldn't want one moving. That could end up as an extra variable and disrupt the integrity of the experiment."
Nodding, Dilan said, "The two of them have always been meddlesome and slippery along with being too curious for their own good. Escape is a distinct possibility with them. We couldn't keep them out of the castle, so why should we have better luck at keeping them in?"
Then Dilan latched onto Lea's arm and pulled him away from Aeleus. Which kicked Lea's panic up a notch and caused Isa to try lunging in the man's iron grip.
"Lea!" His normal stoic personality dissolved under Isa's buried temper bubbling to the surface. "Let him go! Don't hurt him!"
But Isa remained trapped as Aeleus transferred him from being tucked under the man's arm into a more dignified hold. The aggressive kicking and clawing proved just as ineffective as before. And Lea's struggles did nothing to keep him from being slammed onto the gurney. Even as he snarled out threats and begged for them to let him go in equal measure, tight straps snaked around his ankles, his waist, his wrists, and across his chest.
"We have become quite knowledgeable with regards to darkness and hearts," said Xehanort coolly. "We know how to introduce darkness into the heart. How to cultivate and strengthen it. And how to overwhelm a heart until it is consumed by that darkness, collapsing under the weight of it. Returning to a heart's natural state."
"Let us go," said Lea, his voice shaking more than he wanted to admit. He strained hard against the restraints. "Please don't do this."
He was crying. Lea could feel the wetness on his face despite his best efforts. He knew that there was no point crying and he should focus on getting free. He should save his energy to escape. But he was absolutely terrified. The fear clawed its way up from the ice in his stomach to squeeze his throat. Lea wanted to stop crying, but he couldn't seem to stop the tears.
He shouldn't have suggested that they become apprentices. Lea wanted to help find the girl who vanished from the secret basement and it seemed like the best way to do that. But if he didn't have that dumb idea, none of this would be happening.
His tone still cool and detached, Xehanort said, "Tears. An appeal to my emotions. An attempt to earn sympathy. A meaningless effort. We are no longer controlled or swayed by such things. Unclaimed by light or darkness, we come from something quite different now. We—"
His monologue abruptly ended with a shout of surprise and pain from another. Lea twisted his head to see Isa scrambling away from Aeleus. Eyes wild with fury, he ran towards his bound friend. But any hope was immediately crushed when Dilan shot out his hand and a huge gust of wind slammed into Isa.
On the other side, Even shouted about delicate equipment and insulted the man for such recklessness, but all Lea cared about was the rough way that Isa crashed into the tray of sharp instruments with a yelp of pain. Ienzo barely missed being hit as well before hurrying out of the line of fire. Blood dripped off Isa's face as he staggered back to his feet. He didn't seem to even notice the cuts left behind. He was glaring at all the other apprentices as he held up one of the sharp-edged instruments he'd grabbed. Everything in his posture screamed his intention to attack them to free his friend.
But he couldn't win. No matter how furious Isa was, he was outnumbered and outmatched. Lea knew that. And the others knew that as they edged their way around to surrounding him, trapping him in that corner. Not approaching yet. None of them eager to get sliced or stabbed. But that stalemate wouldn't last.
"Don't hurt him! Don't hurt Isa! Leave him alone," shouted Lea desperately. "Just leave us both alone. Please stop it!"
His words fell on deaf ears. And strapped down on the gurney, Lea couldn't do anything to help. He could only watch as Isa lunged and slashed at the other apprentices any time that they tried to draw closer. He would lash out before darting back to his corner.
"The boy certainly has spirit," said Dilan.
A brief high-pitched whine was all the warning that there was. Then a blast of darkness shot across the secret lab and slammed into Isa, pinning him against the wall. Pure, concentrated, and intense amounts of darkness shot out. Washing over Isa and holding him in place as Lea screamed his friend's name. It lasted for what felt like an eternity. Powerful and impossible amounts of darkness streaming out in a terrifyingly strong stream.
Then it finally stopped. Isa crumbled to the floor roughly, any sign of consciousness fleeing. Blood dripped further from the cuts across his face. Lea felt a gut-wrenching fear twist inside him. Isa looked dead. He really looked dead.
And then, proving that whatever protection that the coats were meant to offer clearly had their limits, the limp and bleeding figure dissolved away into nothing. There might have been a flicker of color and light as he broke apart. But then it was gone in an instant. Isa was gone as Lea could only scream and cry at the loss.
As tears rolled down his face and he felt grief and fear tearing away at him, Lea knew that he was alone. Trapped, alone, and with no one left who would remember him or even care what would happen. His best friend was gone and it was his fault because Lea suggested that becoming apprentices would be easier than trying to break in all the time. It was his fault that Isa was gone and now he was alone.
"Zexion," scolded Even.
Stepping away from the machine that he'd fired, the boy said evenly, "He almost crashed into me, he was armed, and you weren't going to grab him without damage. And a damaged subject would provide poor data. It was the smart decision."
Shaking his head slowly, Even said, "Such a waste. But at least we have one test subject left to work with. Since full-strength is clearly too much for the protective material, we'll have to start at a lower intensity and work our way up." He stepped over and redirected the machine towards Lea. "Prepare to record the first data point, Zexion. We don't want any further mistakes."
Xion stood in the middle of the Round Room. The rest of Organization XIII sat in their white thrones, staring down at her. Staring, but not truly seeing. She could feel it. She shivered at the sensation of their combined gazes. It made her feel small, insignificant, and wrong.
She didn't know how she knew it, but Xion knew that they didn't truly see her. Not the real her. Not the person that Xion believed herself to be. The black-haired girl that she always saw in the reflection. That's not what they saw now. That's not what they ever saw.
Sora. Naminé. Roxas. Kairi. Ventus. A faceless doll.
Nothing.
They all saw someone or something different. But not her. Never her. Not even Axel or Roxas were seeing her, both of them staring down at Xion with the same unconcerned detachment as the rest.
She clutched her hands in front of her chest. Xion wanted to pull her hood up and hide from the white room and their judging gazes.
"Puppet," said Saïx.
"Tinker toy," said Larxene.
"Sham," said Xaldin.
"Failed experiment."
"Replica."
"Copy."
"Mistake."
"Broken."
"Useless."
Xion covered her ears, trying to block out their words. But she could still hear their voices. All of them. Even Roxas and Axel were telling her that she wasn't real. That she was fake and wrong. She couldn't block it out.
"I'm real," she whispered. "I'm me. I'm not a sham."
But her voice sounded weak and their words kept growing louder. Deafening. There was nothing except the bright white room, their cold eyes, and the voices of everyone that she knew telling her that she shouldn't exist.
And Xion couldn't help thinking that they were right. That she was merely a reflection of what others expected to see. Pieces of other people. Stolen memories with no substance of her own. There was nothing about Xion that could be described as truly hers.
"Fake."
"Lies."
"A waste."
"An illusion."
"Less than nothing."
"Forgettable."
She collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Hiding away. Though she didn't know what she was hiding. She didn't know what features that she wore. She could be anyone. Because she was less than no one.
"Replacement."
"A thing."
"Disposable."
"It."
"Not real."
He screamed and cried. A distant part of him was aware of Even calling out numbers and adjusting the stream of darkness pouring at him. At him and into him. But Lea couldn't focus. It didn't start out that badly, the black coat protecting him as promised. But they'd long since passed that point. And that brought pain.
A sharp pain deep in his chest. A building pressure. It felt tight and kept growing worse. Like something inside him was on the verge of exploding as too much darkness was forced into a small space. Lea kept panting and gasping as the pain and pressure worsened. He felt like he couldn't get enough air. He felt like the pressure was suffocating even though he could breathe. His limbs strained and his back arched, the boy held down only by the restraints. None of his reactions were voluntary. Everything was just too much.
And it wouldn't stop. The pain, the pressure, and the tears wouldn't stop. And Lea kept panting, screaming, and crying. He wanted it to stop. All of it. He needed that white-hot pain, the pressure trying to burst him apart, and the choking tears to stop.
It hurt. Everything hurt and he was terrified. Lea couldn't bear it.
His throat grew raw from his screams, his muscles ached from the strain, and it wouldn't stop. There was no end in sight. It would never end.
Then something gave way. The impossible pressure and the pain that wrapped around his heart finally caused something to shift, ripping it out. The horrible sensation made him gasp. Lea slumped, his vision going dark and the world fading around him…
…until Axel struggled to open his eyes to the white floors of the Castle That Never Was, a small figure sprawled in front of him. He didn't like fighting Xion and it took a lot more out of him than he expected. But he had no choice. He needed to bring her back. Xemnas left him no choice.
But it would be all right. Once Axel caught his breath and recovered a bit, he would get off the floor and pick Xion back up again. Then he could work on figuring out how to keep her safe. He could keep her and Roxas with him and safe. He could still fix things somehow. He just needed a moment to regain his strength.
Then a dark shape reached down and picked up the unconscious Xion.
Xemnas.
Axel wanted to reach out and snatch her back. To beg Xemnas to leave her alone. To stand up and do something. Anything. But his battered and exhausted body refused to cooperate. He could only watch as Xemnas carried her away.
No. Please, no.
His chest ached at the sight in a way that he couldn't explain.
They would do something to her. He knew it. Tie her down, experiment on the girl, and try to remake her. He knew that would happen. That knowledge burned in him. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
No, no, no, no—
Lea jolted, eyes yanking open and his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. The deep gasps made his ribs ache dully and his ears were filled with loud pounding.
For just a moment, staring at the white walls, ceiling, and sheets, his sleep-addled mind thought he was still back in the Castle That Never Was and that Xemnas had Xion. It took a few blinks and trying to sit up to fully pull himself out of the remnants of the nightmare.
He was in Twilight Town, the purple-tinged darkness as close to night as it ever grew. The latest and darkest version of twilight. The locals would call it night, but it lacked the full blackness in the sky to qualify in Lea's opinion. Not the perfect blackness of the World That Never Was and its eternal night. He was in Twilight Town in their new apartment. Lea focused on that reality as his pulse gradually slowed and his breathing evened out.
It was only a nightmare. Or rather, a nightmare composed to two separate memories squashed together. Remembering Xion meant remembering how he failed her. That part seemed to be a natural enough thing to dream about. But the first part… Lea hadn't properly remembered the events of that day in the years since. He knew what vaguely happened, but not to that level of detail. He'd only remembered bits and pieces about losing his heart. Maybe it was the traumatic nature of it or maybe it was because of how most of his emotional memories turned vague and distant when he became a Nobody, but he hadn't remembered. And he hadn't wanted to remember.
Lea didn't know what brought those memories back to the forefront now. Maybe it was the return of his heart and some time to adjust that gave them back. Or maybe remembering Xion jostled loose a few other lost memories in the process. Regardless, he would rather bury them back down where they came from and forget about that day as much as possible.
Ironic for someone who cared so strongly about memory and being remembered, but Lea had to draw the line somewhere.
He sat in his bed and ran a hand through his hair. Should he risk sleep again? He had plenty of painful and awful memories that he would prefer to not revisit. Several of them connected to the Organization and the white room was serving as an unwanted reminder.
Then Lea heard something. Movement. And before rational thought or reason had a chance to weigh in on the decision, he was already climbing out of his oversized bed. He was down the hall to the closest room before he realized it.
While Lea was already using his t-shirt and shorts combo as pajamas, Roxas and Xion didn't have the luxury of new clothes from the fairies. They didn't have any other normal-looking clothes. They'd tossed their casual clothes into the washing machine after their pizza dinner. Which meant that when Lea looked into the boy's room, Roxas was sprawled on his bed while wearing his black coat. And just like in their Organization days, he didn't apparently remember to sleep under his white sheets.
But it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He could tell that much immediately. Roxas would twitch and turn, his expression tense and strained. Occasionally he would gasp quietly as he flinched in his sleep. Everything about Roxas spoke of agitation. Lea wasn't the only clearly suffering from nightmares.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Lea said, "Roxas. Wake up."
There was no reaction. Not even a twitch that wasn't obviously part of the nightmare. Roxas remained asleep, shifting and fighting against whatever visions filled his head. Lea's own nightmare earlier lost all importance in the face of the boy's distress. He needed to fix this. If he wanted to snap Roxas out of the nightmare, he would have to be a little more forceful.
Reaching over to shake the boy, he said, "Wake up."
It was like a switch flipped. One moment, Roxas was trapped in his uneasy sleep. The next instant, he shot up in a fully combative state, summoning one of his Keyblades in the process.
Lea didn't flinch. It was a skill that he perfected during the Organization, when such signs of weakness could be dangerous. Axel had managed not to react when Xaldin sent his spears towards his head close enough to clip his hair. Lea remained equally still when the tip of Oblivion was suddenly pointed at his throat. He didn't even look down at the Keyblade.
He couldn't react or show any sign of fear or worry about his own wellbeing. He'd known that instinctively even before the weapon appeared without warning. Roxas didn't need to see his friend being afraid. Roxas needed to know that Lea trusted him. The kid would never hurt him. Not even when he jolted right out of a nightmare. So Lea couldn't react. He couldn't let Roxas think for even a moment that he doubted him.
The boy stayed there, weapon drawn and panting heavily. Panicked and furious eyes slowly shifted towards confusion. Roxas blinked a few times, not quite comprehending what was in front of him. He just seemed disoriented and upset. Then he finally seemed to properly recognize that Lea was right in front of him.
"It's all right," said Lea. He carefully reached over and gently lowered the weapon from his throat. "It was just a nightmare. You're safe."
Roxas dropped his Keyblade and let it vanish before it even hit the bed. He glanced around, searching for enemies that only existed in his imagination. He was blinking rapidly against the moisture trying to form in his eyes. Then he rubbed his arms as if to banish a chill. The lost and uncertain expression caused Lea to start to reach out to the kid. But Roxas flinched at the movement, still too keyed up. Lea slowly lowered his hand and tried rethinking his strategy.
"You're safe," he repeated. "We're all safe. Nothing happened, Roxas. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real."
After a moment, he started to look calmer. Not exactly calm, but better. Lea could work with that. Any improvement was welcome. He just needed to figure out what else Roxas needed. An embrace was clearly off the table. And unfortunately, ice cream in the middle of the night wasn't a practical solution either.
"Tell me what you need," said Lea. "What can I do to help, Roxas?"
Roxas looked up at him, wide-eyed and uncertain. Sitting on his white sheets, in his white room, and wearing his black coat, it was like Lea was given a glimpse into the past. Back to somewhat more innocent days. Back when there hadn't been so many betrayals, secrets, lies, and fights to tear away at them. It made his heart ache, even if he knew that those days weren't perfect either.
Swallowing, Roxas whispered, "Xion… I need to know…"
"You need to see that she's safe?"
He nodded shakily. Whatever the nightmare might have shown him, seeing Xion would help banish it. Lea could work with that. He smiled as he stood up and gestured for Roxas to follow. The pair quietly left the bedroom and headed towards the girl's room.
Lea hoped that seeing Xion sleeping peacefully in her bed, safe and alive, would be enough to reassure Roxas. It would be helpful for Lea too after his own nightmare. Not that Lea's nightmare seemed as important anymore. But regardless, checking on Xion would be calming in theory.
But when they opened her door and looked inside, her sleep was no better than theirs had been. She was curled up in a tight ball in the middle of her bed, whimpering quietly in a way that sounded like she was on the verge of tears. There was no hesitation. Roxas was across the room immediately.
"Xion, wake up. It's okay. Wake up. We're here."
She woke up and the tears followed her into consciousness. Her hands clutched tightly together in front of her chest as Roxas pulled her up into a hug, letting Xion bury her face into his shoulder. She shook with muffled sobs and Lea could make out a few scattered words. "Sham," "mistake," and "fake." None of which were comforting.
Kneeling on the floor in front of the pair and ignoring the way his stomach twisted at the sight of her tears, Lea said, "You're safe, Xion. That was just a nightmare. This is real. You're real. And you're both alive and have your own separate existences. You won't disappear again." Lea carefully took their hands and squeezed them. "Both of you are safe, alive, and real."
"I… I was back at the castle," she whispered, looking up at him. "And… and I am real?"
Roxas immediately said, "Of course you're real."
"Very real," said Lea firmly. "A brave, clever, strong, and selfless real girl who will never be forgotten ever again. Got it memorized?"
Xion managed a shaky smile at his words. Though Lea noticed that the expression weakened when she looked away from him. Specifically, when she looked at her white surroundings or the black coats that she and Roxas wore to bed. All rather visceral reminders of horrible memories. And a possible catalyst for the nightmares plaguing all three of them.
Lea suddenly regretted moving them into the apartment so soon. They should have stayed another night at the tower. He should have waited until they could have redecorated a little more. At least enough to make the place look less like a mini version of the Castle That Never Was. A few more splashes of color could have made a difference.
"What do you need from us, Xion?" asked Lea. "How can we help?"
Wiping away at the tears, she whispered, "I don't… I don't want to be alone."
"Then you won't be." Lea tugged at their hands. "Come on. Slumber party time in the big bed. Plenty of room for everyone."
"What's a slumber party?" she asked.
"I'll explain in the morning. For now, trust me."
He smiled at their twin nods and pulled them to their feet. Roxas and Xion kept hold of his hands as Lea led them back to his bedroom. A few minutes of crawling across the mattress and shuffling around, the trio settled down into a comfortable arrangement with the half-pints nestled on either side of him as Lea pulled the sheet over them.
He was quickly growing rather fond of the setup. It was reassuring to keep them close. Nightmares of them being snatched away couldn't take root when they were snuggled against his sides. He listened to their breathing grow slow and even as sleep reclaimed them. Lea would protect them from further nightmares, ready to wake them up again at the slightest sign of distress. They could protect themselves from most threats, but he could at least guard their sleep.
He had his friends back. Safe. Alive. Real. That knowledge and their twin heartbeats comforted him as much as a soft lullaby. Lea's arms curled around them, pulling the half-pints closer. Then he let the gentle tug of sleep drag him back under.
Nightmares are bound to happen with these guys. Especially with all the traumatic things that have happened to them. All of the characters in "Kingdom Hearts" could benefit from some therapy. They are just a bundle of various traumatic issues wrapped in sweaters of friendship and waving around Keyblades. But at least they aren't alone.
No, the decision to have them order pizza didn't have anything to do with a certain joke weapon from "Chain of Memories." It was just a funny coincidence. You believe me, right?